Monday, May 19, 2008

Reckless Mercy is God's business, not mine

I am always concerned with Christians trying to show mercy to people who should appropriately be able to help themselves.  I think  we as Christians make a huge mistake when we have the ability to give to help others and what we really do is keep them from reaching their destiny in God.  We become enablers.  We cushion them from a blow God was about to allow them to endure to help them come wholeheartedly to him.

There is a place for being discerning.  I'm not a big fan of helping those who are homeless by choice.  The hungry by neglect or laziness.  The destitute by dissipation.  Therefore I gladly put money in the Salvation Army canister at Christmas.  I am less charitable toward other do good reckless mercy houses.  We must not be reckless in Mercy, Only God is allowed that capacity.  He's reckless towards us, but we are to be wise.

I won't name names of suspect mercy and ministry efforts but we need to be accountable to God for our merciful acts.  We need to act toward others as we would have them act toward us.  Sometimes that means we let them figure it all out.  Sometimes a hard time heals.

I'm not mean.  I am concerned that we in our good Christian charity we have forgotten that Love is the root word in charity.  We have forgotten that God loved his chosen people so much that sometimes he allowed them to go into bondage so they would come back to him.  As it says in Hosea 6:1 and Job 5:18, "He wounds us but then he will bind us up again". (Gene's Revised Version)

Sometimes with all good intentions we try to bind up people God intentionally wounds to cause people to be broken enough to be restored to him.

This is wrong and we must stop it now.

Too often we get in the way of someone being broken by God so they can be restored to Him by restoring them without without the brokenness God was seeking.  In that we are sinning.
 
We in effect go to the Pig Pen to feed and clothe the prodigal before he's broken and is driven to return the the father.

This is most certainly wrong and this is most certainly true.  Let's cut it out.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is not even worth commenting on. You need some head help bigtime.

Anonymous said...

anonymous 1:' Not worth commenting on'? Then let God's word bring the comments: Prov..13: 4 "The sluggard craves and gets nothing", v.13 "he who scorns instruction will pay for it"...v.l8, "he who ignores discipline comes to poverty and shame".Prov. 24:33-34. Other proverbs filled with same thoughts. And 2 Thess. 3:6-10.Read it. I was always taught by parents, "if any would not (wills not to) work, neither should he eat!"...anonymous no. 2

Anonymous said...

no mercy. that explains why i dont go to church anymore. christ-ians and love dont mix. obviously not. i tell you the truth when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters you were doing it to me. common sense would say use wisdom not judgementt

Gene said...

We are to care for "my brothers and sisters"

Who are HIS brothers and sisters? I think this is often times the error.

We indiscriminately dispense "Mercy" without thinking or discovering if those people are indeed brothers or sisters in the household of faith.

Our prime obligation is to the household of Christ, then to the world. Read Acts 2:42, 44-45. I believe that defines pretty well how we are to take care of others.

The church became ineffective when it ceased to take care of it's own. And, when you come to the Church you are held to account if you took help without being discipled or held accountable.

That's the scriptural thing to do. Church members shouldn't be on welfare at the government's expense. We should take care of each other and show mercy but not enable. Too many people learned to work the system.

We haven't gotten over that malady yet.

There is no scriptural imperative to go out and throw money at the world without care.

Anonymous said...

Proud people focus on the failures of others…broken people are overwhelmed with the sense of their OWN spiritual need.

Proud people have to prove that they are right…broken people are willing to yield the right to be right.

Proud people claim “rights” and have a demanding spirit…broken people yield their rights and have a meek spirit.

Proud people have a drive to be recognized and appreciated…broken people have a sense of their own unworthiness; thrilled that God would use them at all.

Proud people feel confident in how much they know…broken people are humbled by how very much they have to learn.

Love is patient. Love is kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand it’s own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record or when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice, but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. … There are three things that will endure — faith, hope, and love — and the greatest of these is love. 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7,13

Anonymous said...

LORD! I desire a broken spirit…a spirit of love. Clean out my critical spirit. I don’t want it anymore. Let me look for love and peace in every situation. Make me overwhelmed at every moment with a sense of my own spiritual need…not anyone else’s. Let me see all others as better than myself. Help me to deny my selfish desires and be motivated to serve others. I have nothing to offer except a life that flows through Jesus. I have so much to learn. I am not concerned with being “right”. Help me to be humble and slow to correct others. Give me a teachable spirit…one that longs for your Word and your truth. I love you Jesus…and it’s in your name I pray. Amen.

Gene said...

I want anyone to tell me at any level where being wise in showing mercy is judgmental.

Or,to put it another way, I want anyone anywhere to tell me that there can be no damage done by giving a drug addict or an alcaholic on his last legs money to buy another bottle or another fix.

Is that judgmental??

It's not judgmental to be careful and discerning. It is foolish to just throw money at societies problems without consideration for the consequence of your actions.

The judgment of Almighty God is upon those who are foolish in the administration of provision that thwarts his sovereign will.

We are held to a higher standard.

I believe much of what we think is charity or Godly in meeting others needs is really a function of our own guilt and desire to feel superior.

That is a very sad commentary on the Christian Community.

We need to grow up in Jesus. Jesus was discriminating in who he provided for or even healed.

Consider for a moment the man at the Gate Beautiful. How many times did Jesus walk by him. He ascended back to heaven without ever doing anything about him.

Judgmental, proper, discerning? I don't know and neither do you. How do we think we are somehow superior to his ministry at any level.

I think the sloppy agape we demonstrate as a Church says bad things about being a Christian. We are looked upon by the world as stupid. I don't think that was Jesus intention.

Anonymous said...

The situation was no different when Jesus was on earth. The religious leaders showed a complete lack of concern for the poor and needy. The religious leaders were described as “money lovers” who ‘devoured the houses of the widows’ and who were more concerned about keeping their traditions than caring for the aged and the needy. (Luke 16:14; 20:47; Matthew 15:5, 6) It is of interest that in Jesus’ parable of the good Samaritan, a priest and a Levite on seeing an injured man walked past him on the opposite side of the road rather than turn aside to help him.—Luke 10:30-37.

Jesus Showed Concern for the Poor
The Gospel accounts of Jesus’ life show that he fully comprehended the difficulties of the poor and was extremely sensitive to their needs. Although Jesus had lived in heaven, he emptied himself, took up human life, and ‘became poor for our sakes.’ (2 Corinthians 8:9) On seeing the crowds, Jesus “felt pity for them, because they were skinned and thrown about like sheep without a shepherd.” (Matthew 9:36) The account of the needy widow shows that Jesus was impressed, not by the large gifts of the rich, who gave “out of their surplus,” but by the poor widow’s tiny contribution. What she did touched his heart because she “out of her want dropped in all the means of living she had.”—Luke 21:4.

Not only did Jesus feel compassion for the poor but he also took a personal interest in their needs. He and his apostles had a common fund from which they gave to needy Israelites. (Matthew 26:6-9; John 12:5-8; 13:29) Jesus encouraged those who wanted to be his followers to recognize their obligation to assist needy ones. He told a rich young ruler: “Sell all the things you have and distribute to poor people, and you will have treasure in the heavens; and come be my follower.” The fact that the man was unwilling to part with his possessions showed that his love for riches was greater than his love for God and fellowman. Thus, he did not have the qualities required to be a disciple of Jesus.—Luke 18:22, 23.

Anonymous said...

Hey, you, the last 'anonymous': Why don't YOU sell ALL YOUR possessions and give to the poor?. Since you don't do that, are you also lost, as you assume the 'certain ruler" of Luke 18 was? If the main purpose of the Son of Man coming to earth was to teach us to give our ALL to the poor, why did He let Mary pour out perfume on His feet, perfume which in our day, would have cost about $40,000.00?.

The lesson of Luke 18(also Mark 10:17-27) and of John 12 relates first and foremost to the salvation-by-grace Gospel of Jesus. That is the only motive for a God-pleasing help to the poor.
I agree with the Northern Gleaner comments about acting with proper judgment in dealing with the poor. We are still guided by the Word of God which says "if any WOULD NOT work, neither should he eat"! There are some who CAN'T work, disabled, and for a certain time in their lives, cannot work. The body of Christ is called to first care for its own. "inasmuch as you have done it to the least of these, MY BROTHERS, you have done it to Me"--the word, 'brother" (adelphos, Greek; if you follow hermeneutical principles,it means the brother/sister in Christ).and,"let us do good to all....but especially to those of the household of faith", is the Scriptural guideline. Is it "love" to 'hand out' again and again to the person who won't work, and won't make an effort? You are only feeding his sense of 'entitlement", and emboldening that terrible weakness in his character, his dependency on others. It's as though a mother bird will always carry the young on ITS wings, and never teach it to fly. Not only the Scripture, but nature teaches us the lesson. no. 2 anonymous